Roddick Is All Business In Rout

Agassi Defeats Kafelnikov In Delayed Match

NEW YORK — For the 87 brisk minutes it took to wrap up this third-round rout at the U.S. Open, Andy Roddick was as stone-faced as Mr. Lincoln sitting in his granite memorial off the Capitol Mall.

And he was just as resolute Sunday afternoon.

Not even after he had secured the 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 victory on Flavio Saretta's 38th unforced error did Roddick crack a smile. He didn't turn to his coach's box and make a fist in celebration, as he often does. He didn't dance on anyone's grave.

He took the remaining ball in his hand and swatted it up into the stands, where about 22,000 inside Arthur Ashe Stadium were standing and clapping their approval, and it's a safe bet that second-round victim Ivan Ljubicic, who had ripped into Roddick's on-court behavior on Saturday, wasn't one of them.

Roddick then walked, tight-lipped, to the umpire's chair, where he shook Carlos Ramos' hand. It might have been the first time since the coin flip he had made eye contact with the ump, and he didn't stare at any of the linespeople, either.

It doesn't mean the old gesticulating, fist-pumping Roddick won't be back when he plays unseeded Xavier Malisse on Tuesday, but for now the last thing he wants is more controversial attention. He wants the Ljubicic fracas buried and his full attention riveted on winning his first Grand Slam.

With the temperature down to the high 70s and the humidity no longer a factor, it was a perfect Sunday for watching top-seeded Andre Agassi swat down Yevgeny Kafelnikov and join the fourth-seeded Roddick in the round of 16, along with No. 7 Carlos Moya, No. 8 Rainer Schuettler, No. 12 Sjeng Schalken, No. 22 Younes El Aynaoui, who turned a minor upset by beating 10th-seeded Jiri Novak, and Malisse. Late Sunday, Roger Federer won 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3 over James Blake, to the chagrin of a largely pro-Blake crowd. Federer will meet No. 13 David Nalbandian, who won in four sets over Mark Philippoussis.

Agassi's 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-4 victory, which raised his record to 42-7 for the season, included come-from-behind performances in the final two sets and sent him today against young American Taylor Dent, who has destiny at his feet. A win over Agassi in a Grand Slam? It would take his career up 10 flights.

Agassi was completing a match that began Saturday and was postponed because of rain into Sunday to accommodate network TV.

"It makes for a long day, no question about it," Agassi said. He called the one-day delay, which was obviously economic, "a mistake, an oversight in judgment."

"So I'm going out there expecting him to play a great match," Agassi said. "Anything shy of a great match, I'm hoping, doesn't get it done for him."

With the first week behind him, Roddick has shown no signs of buckling under the pressure of being the No. 1 favorite. He could hardly have played a cleaner match Sunday against a top-50 player (Saretta is No. 49).

He won 20 of his first 21 service points, and that included a streak of 17 straight that didn't end until the first point of his second service game of the second set. He wasn't broken, didn't give up more than two points in any service game until he was serving for the match at 5-3, faced only two break points and fired 10 aces with only one double-fault.

Not only was his serve dominant, but he won most of the long rallies against a Brazilian who almost never comes to net. Roddick was beaten by a backhand down the line only twice -- one of Saretta's best shots. He slugged service return winners, as he did in the ninth game of the second set. He played defense and threw in 10 net approaches, winning eight of those points.

"I played pretty solidly throughout the match," said Roddick. And that was as glowing as he got over this one-sided win.

His deadpan demeanor on court did not carry over to his post-match meeting with reporters.

He seemed more outwardly happy and joking than he had been since he arrived here, regaling everyone with stories about sneaking into the men's locker room at the Open in 1992, when he was 12 years old.

So are three opponents -- Tim Henman, Ljubicic and Saretta. Roddick goes into the second week against Malisse and then either Schuettler or Schalken in the quarters, Wimbledon winner Federer in the semis and Agassi in the final if he is to go the distance.

It's a tall order, but right now no one is looking down on this tournament from a greater height than Roddick.